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Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style
This article consists of basic style guidelines to follow when editing or creating new pages for Mass Effect Wiki. (N.B.: parts of this guide is written in UK English.) Writing Articles Reference * — basic information on how to enter text and formatting * — information on how to upload and use images (and other media like movies or sounds) *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/General (talk) — Overall general stylistic and editorial guidelines *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Planets (talk) — How to lay out a planet details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Systems (talk)— How to lay out a system details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Clusters (talk) — How to lay out a cluster details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Missions (talk) — How to lay out a mission details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Assignments (talk) — How to lay out an assignments details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Equipment (talk) — How to lay out an equipment details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Merchants (talk) — How to lay out a merchant or shop pages *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Adversaries (talk) — How to lay out an adversary's details page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Unique Dialogue Page (talk) — How to lay out a character's unique dialogue page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Class Guide Page (talk) — How to lay out a guide for the individual classes *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Races (talk) — How to lay out a race page *Mass Effect Wiki:Manual of Style/Powers (talk) — How to lay out a power page Editing Articles need to be accessible, readable and accurate. That means good spelling and grammar, breaking up long articles into sections, not using excessive technical language, and writing in simple, concise sentences. The rule of thumb is “speak plainly and accurately”. Quotes are used on important character and mission pages, and in rare occasions elsewhere. Here’s an example of a MEWiki article being edited in the standard editor (click to see larger version): Comments, ideas and personal input should go on the Talk page for that article. MEWiki policy is not to sign edits on articles, only on Talk pages, and articles themselves are not signed (e.g. we have a Vanguard Guide, not My Kickass Vanguard Guide). Accept that your work will be edited by someone at some point. If you disagree with the edits, discuss it with the user who changed them. However, if you cannot accept your writing being edited at all, reconsider whether you want to contribute to the wiki or whether the information would be better posted on another website. Links The Mass Effect Wiki follows a standard of replacing underscores _ with spaces in wiki links in order to keep the source code clean and human-readable. While Mass_Effect:_Foundation and Mass Effect: Foundation both go to the same page, and the former is offered up by the autocomplete functionality during edit mode, the latter form is preferred. Exceptions are allowable if underscores are *actually a part of the link: ' ' *in a one-brace link to external sites because spaces instead of pipes | denote the first separator between the URL and the link label: English Wikipedia home page Do not capitalise alien race names Unlike most species in science fiction, the names of Mass Effect's alien races are common nouns and not capitalised. e.g. "asari", not "Asari". The exceptions to this convention are Collector, Leviathan, Prothean, and Reaper, as these names are effectively titles. For other races, ask the question: if you were writing about humans, would you capitalise the word "human" in your sentence? For example: *'Incorrect:' "The Geth have evolved considerably since the Quarians created them." *'Correct:' "The geth have evolved considerably since the quarians created them." *'Correct:' "Geth are notoriously reclusive. For three centuries, the geth remained hidden beyond the Perseus Veil." The only exceptions are when referring to an enemy unit name, the name of a race's government, and multiplayer characters as these are titles. For example: *"The geth deploy many units on the battlefield, including Geth Armatures, Geth Hoppers, and Geth Troopers." *"The volus are a client race of the Turian Hierarchy." *"The Krogan Sentinel is a character class in Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode." Canon Some wikis – particularly Wookieepedia – which are working from a long-established and defined canon, have clear guidelines as to whether a character is male / female, and what decisions are canon, and write articles accordingly. Because Mass Effect is open for players to create their own story through their decisions, MEWiki does not hold one particular course of action or aspect of character creation as canon, but gives equal credence to player choices. ::Incorrect: “Commander Shepard saved Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz.” ::Incorrect: “Commander Shepard kills Lord Darius on Nonuel.“ ::Correct: “Commander Shepard's possible psychological profiles include saving Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz, surviving a thresher maw attack on Akuze, or ruthlessly killing batarian pirates during the siege of Torfan.” ::Correct: “Commander Shepard may choose to kill Lord Darius on Nonuel, or negotiate a peaceful settlement.“ For this reason, Commander Shepard is not depicted on the wiki's screenshots. Though there is a representative / default Shepard used in promotional art, on MEWiki this version of Shepard is not considered canon to the exclusion of all others, particularly as Shepard can be either male or female and of any ethnicity. As creating an individual character who is shaped by decisions is an integral part of Mass Effect, and all characters are unique, not depicting Shepard keeps MEWiki universal for all Mass Effect players, and gives credence to their decisions and character customisation. This also means Shepard is not referred to by gender in articles (see below). However, images of Shepard are allowed under certain specific circumstances and those images are strictly regulated (also see below). Shepard and Gender Because Commander Shepard can be either male or female, MEWiki writes Shepard as gender-neutral and uses Shepard's rank instead of a male / female pronoun. For example: ::Incorrect: “Commander Shepard and his crew explore the galaxy looking for Saren.” ::Correct: “Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy explore the galaxy looking for Saren”, or ::Correct: "When Sha'ira asks Shepard for help, the Commander agrees to speak to Septimus on her behalf." The exception is when discussing romances, as this is the only area where gender makes any real difference: ::Incorrect: "Commander Shepard can pursue a romance with Ashley Williams." ::Correct: "If Commander Shepard is male, he can pursue a romance with Ashley Williams", or ::Correct: "Regardless of Shepard's gender, the Commander can pursue a romance with Liara T'Soni." For this same reason, we ask that editors please refrain from inserting images that depict Commander Shepard into articles. This does include images of the "default" male and female Shepard. Explicitly, they aren't allowed in in-universe and walkthrough articles. There are only a few exceptions - most notably the Commander Shepard page itself, then Armor images, Romance sections, and the Combat trio of articles for the express purpose of depicting Shepard use relevant concepts written. Any image must be of the default male or female Shepard, and care should be taken to avoid showing as many distinguishing features as possible, like hair and facial features. If there is any question as to whether an image is acceptable, ask an admin before you add it to the article. Perspective The intro paragraphs to most of our articles are written from the perspective of when they were introduced. For example, the Systems Alliance article is written from the perspective of someone who hasn't played Mass Effect yet, where as the Drell article is written from the perspective of when they were introduced in Mass Effect 2. These paragraphs are supposed to provide a brief intro to the article and contain no plot spoilers. If there are new developments, please put them under the appropriate spoiler tag. Spoilers As an encyclopaedia, MEWiki naturally contains spoilers (see Spoiler Warning for more details). However, these must be tagged for the benefit of all users. Some articles are spoilers in their entirety (e.g. Indoctrination) so the tag is at the top to alert users. MEWiki has spoiler tags for every Mass Effect release that adds significant lore into the ME Universe. See the Category:Article management templates directory for the list. Relevant revelations should be written under the appropriate spoiler tag. In general usage, the spoiler tag is used before any major plot revelations. For example: ::Incorrect: “The detective conducted a thorough investigation of the house and all possible avenues of inquiry. In the end, we learn that the butler did it.” ::Correct: The detective conducted a thorough investigation of the house and all possible avenues of inquiry. In the end we learn that the butler did it. In practice, most information around the wiki is organized in terms of revelations per game. goes before the heading for Mass Effect, before the heading for Mass Effect 2, and so on. Trivia sections Trivia sections have a tendency to get out of hand because they are easy to add to. However, in many cases, what was added is not trivia, or is important or interesting enough to be merged into the article proper. Trivia is classified as information players may not have been aware of and is impactful or interesting. Ideally trivia sections should be no more than half a dozen snippets of information, not more than a line or so long. In practice, most legitimate trivia is comprised of behind-the-scenes information adequately sourced from developers themselves as per the sourcing guidelines. Name trivia should be kept to a minimum, and confined to cases where it is either confirmed by a developer, where it conforms to current naming procedures, such as the naming of astronomical bodies after mythological figures, or where a reasonable connection can be made. Coincidental similarities are not trivia. Note that straight comparisons in things that really are otherwise unrelated are not enough to justify trivia. Looks alike/sounds alike is not enough grounds. If making such a comparison, then a connection must be made to the function of the item to back up the claim and in order to justify it. Also note that because all squad members have extra dialogue during missions, it isn't considered trivia. If you come across it, then please look at the style guide for dialogue pages and place it on the appropriate Character's page. IMPORTANT: Please be reminded that popular opinion is not grounds for valid trivia. If no developer confirmation can be sourced for a claim, a reasonable link must be established as stated above, with the trivia item being written in uncertain terms such as "x may be a reference to y, because z." Examples of Incorrect and Correct Trivia: ::Incorrect: ::* The Justicar Code has over five thousand sutras and covers every situation a justicar may encounter. This is not trivia because it is a key element of the Code and should be in the article proper. ::* Alko is also the name of the national alcohol retailing monopoly of Finland. This is not trivia because, as there is nothing in the planet description suggesting any link, it is sheer coincidence. ::Correct: ::* Ashley was originally to recite Robert Heinlein's "Cool Green Hills of Earth." The rights for Heinlein's work are rather complex, and when time ran out to acquire permission, it was replaced with Tennyson's "Ulysses," which is in the public domain. The second and third stanzas were used when she discussed her father, and the fourth and final on the way to Ilos. ::* When Shepard asks about how the virus works, in the first conversation, Legion will respond with; "An equation with an result of 1.33382 returns as 1.33381. This changes the result of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions." This is a reference to the Pentium FDIV bug. ::* Turian is based on the word centurion. Palaven is based on Palatine Hill, with a dash of "paladin." Turian names, culture, and military doctrine also mirror that of the Roman Empire, especially their emphasis on colonizing enemies. Voice Actor Trivia When it comes to a character's voice actor a specific bit of trivia is allowed. However, because voice actors are often involved in multiple projects, trivia about them appearing in a game developed by BioWare, like Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins, is acceptable, while games not developed by BioWare is not. The connection must be made between the games in order to justify trivia. Also provide a link to the wiki that has the necessary information, if it is available. For example: *'Incorrect:' "Keith David has also voiced the Arbiter in Halo 2 and 3." *'Correct:' "Claudia Black also voiced the character Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins, another BioWare game." *'Correct:' "Simon Templeman, who voices Admiral Gerrel, also provided the voice for Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir in the game Dragon Age: Origins, also by BioWare." It is also acceptable to note voice actor information in the trivia sections of articles about non-character subjects, such as in the articles SSV Normandy and Leviathan. Speculation MEWiki has a “low tolerance policy” on speculation in articles. This is due to an incident when an editor created a new race and star systems, and began incorporating them into articles as fact. As the PC version for Mass Effect came out, this confused several contributors as to whether a new race had been added in the PC version. Finding and rooting out these edits created problems, and so this policy was introduced. Speculation is permitted in articles under the following circumstances: * There is evidence for this speculation. For example: ::Incorrect: “Quarians once had fur, but after wearing environmental suits for hundreds of years this trait has died out.” ::Correct: “Some speculate that if they join the Council, humans will have a major military role because they have a substantial fleet, well-trained army and adaptable military doctrine (see Systems Alliance).” * If the speculation refers to an unreleased game or novel, put a link at the end of the sentence to an interview or article supporting that speculation. For example: ::Incorrect: "This decision is pivotal to the story." ::Correct: "This decision is pivotal to the story link to supporting article.", or ::Correct: "This decision is pivotal to the story link to supporting article|source" Note that in order for the ref tags to work, a References section must be set up first. If speculation is not substantiated or qualified, it will be removed. Codex Articles Codex articles are verbatim copies of the in-game Codex. For this reason, we ask that editors not make changes to the substance of the articles, including the images used. As all the Codex entries were transcribed by ordinary human beings, some errors in spelling and grammar are bound to pop up, and these can be remedied by anyone who comes across them. Other than that, we ask that the Codex pages be left as they are. The same applies to pictures, if a picture isn't the Codex entry picture, we please ask that you don't insert it into the Codex. All Codex entries are recorded regardless of when and where they appear. The only way an entry is not recorded is if the entry text doesn't change from game to game. For example, the Primary Entries in Aliens: Council Races for the asari, turians, and salarians do not change from when they are introduced in Mass Effect, so they only need one entry. For entries where the text does change, and the entry appears in the same place, then use a separate heading for each game. For example, the entry for the Normandy SR-2 changes from Mass Effect 2 to Mass Effect 3, so a heading is used to distinguish the entries. Codex entries are classified by the game in which they transcribed from. Meaning that if an entry was a Primary entry in Mass Effect, yet a Secondary entry in Mass Effect 2, then the Primary Codex Entry remains and the Secondary is added and not omitted. For example, the entry for Kinetic Barriers is a Primary entry in Mass Effect, yet a Secondary Entry in Mass Effect 2. Despite the fact it appears in both games in separate places, and the text is the same, both entries are recorded. For Codex entries with an audio entry, if the audio entry differs from the text entry, then no action should be taken. Text entries are verbatim from the game and stay that way regardless of what the audio entry says. The text entry should reflect the in-game text Codex entry, not the audio entry, regardless of any discrepancy between the two. Walkthrough Information in Articles Because most of our articles are written from an in-game perspective, we do not put walkthrough information into main articles. All articles must be kept as if written from an in-game perspective and contain information about who or what they are about. Walkthrough information should be put into the various walkthrough articles where it is appropriate. Also, please avoid using second person pronouns like you and yours in main articles for the same reasons. However, there are specific sections where this rule is lifted. The first exception is in the tactics section of various enemy articles, and only in that section. The rest of the article should be kept as if written from an in-game perspective. The second exception is the walkthrough articles themselves where that kind of talk is appropriate. Apart from those two exceptions, please avoid putting walkthrough information and using second person pronouns in main articles. Capitalizations While we don't capitalize the names of alien races, there are other things that need to be capitalized because they are proper nouns. When Shepard is referred to by rank, Commander needs to be capitalized because that is what "the Commander" is referring to. The names of the various classes, Sentinel, Vanguard, Infiltrator, Soldier, Engineer, and Adept, are also to be capitalized. This is because they are referencing a specific thing, in this case the player's class, they should be capitalized. The various Talents and Powers, like Throw, Lift, and Singularity, should also be capitalized. As they are also referencing specific items, in this case the Talents and Powers, which are proper nouns, they need to be capitalized. Proper Names There are currently five games in the Mass Effect series: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Galaxy, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect: Infiltrator, and Mass Effect 3. There is no game called Mass Effect 1 and as such, the title Mass Effect 1 is not allowed in articles. Also note that, as we are striving to be an encyclopedic source of information, abbreviations like ME, ME2, ME3, etc are not to be used in main articles. The full and proper name of the game being referred to should be put into the article where appropriate. This also applies for the novels and comic books. Their proper and full names, Mass Effect: Redemption, Mass Effect: Revelation, Mass Effect: Ascension, etc., should be used in articles where appropriate. Sic Tags Because of the amount of information that we copy verbatim, or word-for-word, from the games, from time to time, we do encounter errors in spelling, grammar, term usage, and other things. Because we are not here to correct those kind of things, we use Sic tags ( ) to note these errors from the original source. These errors and the sic tags are to remain in the articles and are not to be removed. Any edits that remove these tags or the things they indicate will be reverted on sight and without explanation. The list of these things includes but is not limited to: *Various Descriptions (Weapons, Planets, Upgrades, Research Items) *Journal entries for Missions and Assignments *Emails *Datapads *Audio Logs *Quotes Spelling A quick spellcheck before saving your edit is greatly appreciated. If you don't have a spellcheck add-on in your browser, preview the article first and read it through to check for any mistakes. British or American Spelling? Mass Effect Wiki has editors from the US, the UK, and everywhere else where people subscribe to one form of English or the other, so there are sometimes questions over which spelling is 'correct'. Both of them are. However Mass Effect is written in American English, which means equipment articles like 'Human Armor' have American spelling. So if you're using that article title in a page, it might look odd to have both English and American spelling (e.g. the sentence "Mass Effect has several types of armour, including Human Armor and Quarian Armor" looks a bit strange). The rule of thumb is: either spelling is 'correct', so don't correct 'English English' unnecessarily. Templates Mass Effect Wiki uses templates extensively to avoid the tedium of needing to make dozens (or hundreds!) of changes to standardized markup and text. Redirects Redirects are usually created when a page is moved (i.e. renamed): the original page is given a redirect. This is accomplished automatically by replacing the old page with one which just contains the text #REDIRECT NewPageName For example, the Argus Rifle page redirects to the M-55 Argus article. It is also entirely possible to manually create such pages using the #REDIRECT directive. This can be useful since such pages will show up in searches and can provide sensible aliases (e.g. Shepard redirects to Commander Shepard). This also provides a convenient way to naturally add links to wiki pages without needing to resort to visible text. However, please refrain from creating large numbers of redirects which are not likely to ever be needed. Also note also that the wiki automatically understands markup like turians, rendering the whole thing as 'turians'. Categories Put simply, help other users find things. This includes articles and screenshots. For example, Category:Krogan collects all articles related to the krogan and any media depicting them. The categories on the Mass Effect Wiki are organized into a which is rooted by Category:Browse. To change the parents of a category, simply edit the category page and add or remove Category:SomeCategoryName links. To add any wiki page to a category, simply add Category:SomeCategoryName to the page (by convention, at the end) or click the "Add Category" tab at the bottom. A page can be a member of any number of categories. Once the page is saved, the categories which it is in will appear at the bottom of the page. To categorize a screenshot, either click on the screenshot itself and again, click "Add Category" or hit "Edit" and add categories as you would for any other article. If you wish to upload an image and categorize it at the same time, add Category:SomeCategoryName to the summary of the screenshot on the upload page. If you are creating a new category, the category page itself needs to be created. When creating the page, include a brief description of the purpose of the category, the category template, and add the category itself to any parent categories. For example, This is an example of a page. Category:Browse Category:Help If you want to provide a link to an entire category, you will need to add it as Category:SomeCategory, with a colon before the word 'category'. Otherwise you'll simply place the page in that category instead of creating a link. What Categories? For articles, the categories used should cover the broad themes of the article and be a logical category to find the article under. ::Example: Matriarch Benezia is categorised as a character; she is an (asari); she is a notable adversary; she is known for being a powerful biotic, and she is only seen on Noveria. Therefore these categories are used for her. For images, the categories should be for what is visible in the image. If the image is of an asari mercenary using biotics on Illium, the appropriate categories would be asari, biotics, mercenaries, and Illium. Media Usage Conventions Please consult the wiki's Files Guideline for the in-depth specifications regarding uploaded files. That page also contains the policy regarding personal images uploaded to the site. Splitting Articles Along Game Lines After much discussion, we have decided not to split main articles along Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 lines. Articles like Assignments and Missions are not going to be split because they have all the various parts from both games and a split is not needed. Redirects will be provided to take people to the relevant sections of those articles. However, articles like Adept Guide and Adept Guide (Mass Effect 2), which deal with specific elements of the game, in this case a guide, are to be split because they have a lot of content that deals with a specific game. These articles are split because of the mutually exclusive content. Headquotes The Mass Effect Wiki does permit the use of headquotes in articles in specific locations and each is subject to different rules. All quotes must be spoken by the character and apply to Major Characters. Major Characters are defined as squadmates, major storyline NPCs (David Anderson, Donnel Udina, Armando-Owen Bailey, Illusive Man), major enemies (Saren Arterius, Harbinger, Sovereign), and NPCs who fill those roles in downloadable content packs. *Top of article: This headquote must be from the game in which the character was introduced, and must represent the character as a whole. Meaning if we are talking about Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, the quote must be from Mass Effect. **There are exceptions for Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, whose quotes are from Mass Effect 2 rather than Mass Effect Galaxy, due to the larger role of the game and the presence of more dialogue. *If the character is present in multiple games, for example, Garrus Vakarian, a headquote can be at the top, and at the top of the section dealing with the other game(s). With Garrus as an example, the article can have headquotes at the top of the article, one at the top of the "Mass Effect 2" Section, one in the Mass Effect 2 "Romance" subsection, one in the "Mass Effect 3" section, and another in the Mass Effect 3 "Romance" subsection. *At the top of the "Romance" section. This quote must not be a funny line, but a more serious one describing the relationship. **If a character has multiple romance sections, then a headquote is permitted in each one, but the quote in each must be from the game they are about. *At the top of the "Loyalty" section. This quote must be spoken by the character during their Loyalty in Mass Effect 2. It must represent what the mission is about, what is going on, and show the impact the mission is having on the character. Headquotes may be inserted and changed, but if a change is reverted, then a discussion about changing it must take place on the relevant talk page. However, it is recommended that the initial quote be discussed so that there aren't multiple discussions to change it. Any current headquotes in articles that are not in these specified sections will still be permitted under this policy, but subject to the same rules about changing them out. Bugs, Exploits, Bug Solutions, and their Confirmation Because of the nature of video games, over time people will encounter bugs, exploits, ways to fix bugs or exploits, come across conflicting information, and interesting ways of using things or taking down enemies that may not work again. Because of this, we must have at least three users confirm things of this nature on the relevant talk page before they can be added into the relevant article(s). Information Sourcing Here at the wiki we strive to present information about our topics as accurately as we could, citing only from the most reliable sources. This oftentimes presents problems in that while we know certain things about the franchise have occurred we still need them explicitly spelled out in order to avoid ambiguity. Please note that everything in this section is not by any means an exhaustive or even definitive list but should provide an idea on what is or is not acceptable. Valid Sources *'The games, the novels, the films, and other official tie-in materials.' External sourcing is needed only to prove a point but if said point is readily accessible to anyone with a copy of the relevant medium it's unnecessary. **Example: If trying to prove that Nicholas Boulton = Major Coats, the games' credits must show unequivocally that "Major Coats = Nick Boulton", not "Nick Boulton under Additional Voices". We'll need other sources then. **'Ancillary sites set up by BioWare for their projects.' ***Paragon Lost website ***Barnard Plim's Conspiracy Accountability League blog (viral site for Mass Effect 3: Leviathan) ***Fight For Omega Talons comm feed (viral site for Mass Effect 3: Omega) **Bug confirmation/disputed information is another matter: it still requires at least 3 users as per policy regardless of external sources UNLESS Word of God intervenes below. *'The BioWare Blog' *'BioWare Twitter' *'Mass Effect Twitter' *'Mass Effect Facebook' *'Mass Effect Pinterest' *'BioWare Social Network developer posts.' Those decrees by guys marked with the "BioWare" icon above their avatars. Obviously they should be involved in the Mass Effect franchise since it's not the only IP BioWare is developing. *'List of publications not known to be incorrect when it comes to Mass Effect-related news goes under here.' **Game Informer *'List of confirmed social media accounts goes here, with names added and deleted depending on their current involvement with BioWare.' At the absolute minimum, the main players. **Developers ***Michael Gamble - Producer ***Casey Hudson - Executive Producer ***Dusty Everman - Senior Level Designer, confirmed in a BioWare blog post ***Dave Feltham - Senior Designer, confirmed in a Wikia staff blog post ***Aaryn Flynn - General Manager of BioWare Edmonton and Montreal, confirmed by Jo Berry ***Yanick Roy - Studio Director of BioWare Montreal, confirmed in a BioWare blog post **Writers ***Mac Walters ***Patrick Weekes - confirmed through a post by the official ME Twitter. ***Ann Lemay - confirmed through a post by Patrick Weekes. ***Jo Berry - confirmed in a BioWare blog post **Composers ***Sam Hulick - confirmed in a BioWare blog post **Voice Actors ***Mark Meer ***Jennifer Hale ***Grey DeLisle - confirmed by a fan asking. It should be noted that the original link is dead, the info found there at the time was deemed legitimate, and all other in-Facebook sources referencing the old address redirect to the current one, as shown here and here. Those are automatic redirects made by Facebook servers, not manipulations by any third party. ***Sumalee Montano - confirmed through a post by Ann Lemay, and via her official website. ***Raphael Sbarge **Miscellaneous ***Jessica Merizan - BioWare Community Manager ***Chris Priestly - BioWare Edmonton Community Manager ***David Hulegaard - BioWare Social Media Coordinator, confirmed in a BioWare blog post Conditionally Valid Sources Before citing from the prescribed valid sources please make sure to countercheck against the following below. *'Previous BioWare employees.' Normally they speak out with canon power only within their respective areas of expertise, so please take anything they say with a grain of salt. **Example: If Chris L'Etoile, former Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 writer, talks about behind-the-scenes matters pertaining to the first 2 games, it's valid and counts as devconfirmation. *'Pronouncements by confirmed sources related to the franchise but not directly related to their line of involvement.' This employs the same reasoning as above. Voice actor involvement, especially the one-offs, is usually just limited to their characters so we shouldn't be expecting gameplay-related news or the like from them unless there's a very compelling reason to do so. *'Technical data discovered within the game files.' The problem with data mining is that they're subject to individual interpretation, and that the stated numbers may conflict with what is actually experienced in-game. This data is subject to the conditions below. *'An online discussion strictly related to gameplay mechanics (not lore or canon) that has at least two of the following three requirements': :#Is supported by in-game testing with explicit numbers and test parameters (must be quantitative and measurable, not anecdotal/qualitative test data). :#Uses a related foundation of explicitly devconfirmed mechanics data (or trivially derived conclusions); extra plus if it uses devconfirmed methodology1. :#Is corroborated with game data files. :If #1 is not met, then the discussion must be virtually self-evident from #2 and #3 (such as being trivially verifiable). In addition, the discussion must fulfill all of the following: ::#Must be clear that the discussion is inclusive of past discussions if necessary; i.e. if there have been three increasingly more accurate discussions and test about a mechanic, don't source the first one. ::#There must be general consensus in the follow-up discussion; i.e. test data that is directly contradicted by all follow up posts is most likely flawed. ::#The discussion must be a reasonably high-trafficked thread; i.e. a post that has test data but no follow-up peer analysis has likely not had a chance to be verified. :In addition, the emphasis on conditionally valid source means that if the edit being supported by this source is challenged by another editor, then explicit verification is necessary—whether by trivial "makes sense" gameplay or by actual re-running of tests, depending on the complicatedness of the test data or the controversiality of the edit—by three wiki editors. :Furthermore, any mechanics discussion related to probabilistic or statistical analysis cannot be conditionally valid, as no one player (or even a group of players) can possibly provide a statistically significant sample size to state anything definitive about the odds of something happening unless explicitly devconfirmed otherwise. :1 The only devconfirmed methodology is direct memory scanning using external tools. Invalid Sources *'Wikipedia.' Wikipedia presents general facts, the Mass Effect Wiki is for specialized information. It is only fitting and logical we cite from the actual sources pertaining to the franchise, not from any other third-hand party that cites sources both approved and unapproved by this wiki - which Wikipedia undoubtedly does. *'IMDB.' Like this wiki and Wikipedia in that anyone can edit their pages, but with less stringent methods of acceptance (if there's actually any). Although if, for example, we are citing voice actors who are beyond confirmed (e.g. Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale) it's acceptable to provide IMDB links to the Mass Effect characters that they voiced. *'Private messages.' Anyone can say they PM'ed a dev over so-and-so, even provide screenshots to back it up, but the problem is that the data is not independently verifiable. Not to mention anyone can doctor photographic "evidence" nowadays. Therefore, we highly encourage people wishing to pursue such avenues of correspondence to convince the concerned developer/s to post the relevant information on a publicly-viewable medium: BSN forums under bioware-certified usernames, their valid twitters, and so on. *'Unconfirmed sources'. By this, it means those unlisted in the valid sources. Criteria for Confirming Unconfirmed Sources *A confirmed source linking to the unconfirmed source in a post concerning unconfirmed source's role in the franchise. **Hypothetical example: MEOfficial Twitter: @anthonyskordi voiced Leviathan. **Real example: The way Patrick Weekes' work Twitter account was confirmed for the purposes of this wiki, above in the valid sources. *In case of video evidence, the personalities involved should be shown stating or doing in no uncertain terms the things they were cited with. **Example: Mark Meer interviewed where he says he voiced all the vorcha and the hanar. For relative unknowns, verification is still subject to previous point. *In case of unconfirmed source confirmation, add them to the list of valid sources with a note describing how and why. Addenda Furthermore, we ask people that if they're trying to add unconfirmed sources, confirmation in accordance with the guidelines above falls under their responsibility, not others. There may be those who are willing to do some e-detective work in collaboration but there's no escaping the fact that people can be busy on other pursuits and may not be able to help all the time. Consult the General Manual of Style for help in setting up reference sections when needed, or just look at any other similar article's source code to see how they are set up. Lastly, a general rule of thumb to follow instead of reading everything above: Mass Effect Wiki likes devconfirmation.